English Help Online's Blog

I’ve written about the adjective “funny” before in my blog about the difference between “fun”, “funny” and “interesting”. At that time I only mentioned the first meaning of “funny” which is something that makes us laugh.

However, there is another meaning to this word that many people don’t realize. It can also be used to describe things which are odd or a little strange. For example:

There’s a funny smell coming from the kitchen. I wonder what it is.

This soup tastes funny. What did you put in it?

There’s something funny going on at my office. I see people whispering together, but nobody will tell me what’s happening.

A: Bill said he could come to our party.

B: That’s funny. He told me he couldn’t come.

I’m now married with three kids. It’s funny because I never thought I would start my own family.

So in this way, the word “funny” can be used to describe a strange taste or smell or a surprising situation which we think is a little strange.